


Election Day

by pineapplesquid



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Pre-Slash, Steve is adorable and patriotic, Thor is confused, Tony just really likes Steve, Voting, election
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-27
Updated: 2012-12-27
Packaged: 2017-11-22 14:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/610981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pineapplesquid/pseuds/pineapplesquid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve takes his duties as a citizen very seriously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Election Day

**Author's Note:**

  * For [geese-in-flight](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=geese-in-flight).



            It wasn’t so late when Tony finally got up—ok, maybe most people were up before 10 on a weekday, but what was the point of owning the company if you had to show up on time?  Or at all.  And anyway, he should get a was-up-late-saving-the-world excuse, anyway.  Because clearly Dummy’s new and improved wheels would increase lab efficiency so he could make even more cool, world-saving stuff.

            Whatever, it wasn’t really all that late when he made his way down to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee and some breakfast.  And hey, almost everyone else was there, still eating, so clearly he wasn’t too lazy.  Not that he cared anyway. 

            Everyone was used enough to pre-second-cup-of-coffee Tony, and so his mumbled “Morning,” got few replies.  Once he’d served himself a cup, though, and managed to find his chair, Steve looked up, clearly too impatient to wait. 

            “So, Tony, now that you’re up, I was thinking,” and Steve looked even more alert than usual in the morning, “Since we all have flexible schedules, we should go during the day when people are at work.  Maybe right after lunch?  Or now, after you eat,” he offered, sounding distinctly more enthusiastic about the second option.  Tony blinked.  “We’re at the elementary school, it’s just a couple of blocks, we can walk there.”  Glancing around the table, Tony realized that at least he wasn’t the only one with no idea of what was going on.  Bruce was eating with his usual unconcern, but Natasha was looking a little dubious, and Clint and Thor looked as confused as Tony felt.

            Coulson was nodding.  “I’ve already been,” he said calmly, “Since I have to be at work.  But the rest of you should probably go together.  Take Thor along, he should see this too.”  That wasn’t any more enlightening. 

            Tony finally found his voice.  “Uh, Cap, what are you talking about?  I was going to spend the day working on the repairs to the Quinjet, kinda needs to get done, I didn’t know we had any meetings. . .” And then the look on Cap’s face, the hint of disappointment that meant he was trying to hide how he thought you were the worst person who’d ever existed (or maybe Tony took these things just a little too personally) stopped him dead.  But try as he might, he couldn’t remember a meeting or charity event or volunteering effort or anything he was supposed to be at that day.  Surely his phone would have had a reminder if there was something. 

            Steve finally stopped just looking at him and spoke.  “Tony, it’s Tuesday.” Incomprehension.  “The 6th.”  Still a blank look.  “The first Tuesday in November.  Tony, we have to go vote.”  Oh, right.  And of course _Captain America_ was excited about voting, he was just like that, that was why he was wearing a red and white and blue plaid shirt, he would probably wear the sticker for days (and now that Coulson had turned to look at him, Tony could see the sticker on his shirt). 

            Fortunately as always, Thor was there to intervene.  “Vote?” he boomed. “What is this voting?  Is it a feast day?  A celebration?”

            Steve turned to him, smiling now that he wasn’t looking at Tony (and Tony was totally rational about these things, he was, he was a scientist, it wasn’t like he was going to attatch excessive meaning to everything Steve did, that was ridiculous and never ended well anyway).  “Thor, remember how we explained what a democracy is?” And Tony wished he’d been there for that, how could he have missed a conversation that good.

            “Aye.  A nation is not ruled by one king, but by many!” Thor grinned.  “A most unusal system, I confess.”

            “Well, it’s not exactly like a king,” Steve tried to explain.  “There are a lot of different positions people can have, for the country, or their state, or a city, but they only last a few years, usually.  Regular people, anyone, can run for public office.  Remember?  And different offices can do different things.  And they work together to make laws.”

            “Aye, I recall your explanation.  It is an amusing enough idea, but it cannot actually work.  There would be chaos!  The people would not know who to listen to.  And who would hold these offices?  Each person making laws for themselves?  No, it is an interesting thought, but such impractical dreams are for children.”

            Steve looked so completely stunned that Tony found himself taking pity.  “Hey, actually, it does work.  Kinda, anyway.  As well as anything.  It’s what we have.  Y’know, here, now.  Since seventeen seventy. . .” he paused.

            “Six.” Steve gritted out. 

            “Right.  So, yeah, chaos a bit, but it mostly works.  Aside from the money and the wars and the corruption and egos and—“

            Steve interrupted him, glaring. “Yes, Thor, our country is a democracy.  And it’s been working for a long time.  It means that the government represents the people.  Every year, everyone in the country gets to vote on who they want to elect to hold office.  Everyone’s vote is equal, and together we decide who will run the country.  So the government is responsible to the people—if they do things badly, they won’t get elected again, so they have to listen.  And no matter how much money you have, or how old you are, or where your family came from, you still have the right to have an equal voice in how our country is run.  But that power that comes with being a citizen means that we have a responsibility to participate.  We should all—“ with a meaningful look around the table—“make sure that we are part of the democratic process.  We have the immense privilege to participate directly in our government, and it would be ungrateful to repay that with apathy.”  Tony could almost see the flag fluttering behind him.  And much as he wanted to make a snarky comment about dancing girls and Captain America campaigning for votes instead of bonds, he was actually quite sure that this was entirely Steve Rogers.

            Thor was beaming.  “Indeed!  You have convinced me, Captain.  It will be my honor to join in the election rituals of my adopted planet!  I will go with you to partake in this right of the citizen!” 

            Tony felt he had to intervene.  “Sorry, Thor, but you can’t actually vote. Only citizens get to do that, and you’re pretty much the definition of an alien.  You’ll just have to let Cap vote this time.”  Thor’s face fell, and Tony would have to be a monster to not feel bad about that, but it wasn’t like even he could get Thor citizenship overnight.  Probably.  Even if Thor looked like his world had ended.

            Now Steve was looking at him and Natasha and Clint and Bruce.  “We can all go!” And despite the relatively even voice, Tony could hear the exclamation point finishing the end of the sentence.  His face must have given him away, though, because Steve’s face fell slightly.  “You were going to vote, Tony.  Right?”

            This wasn’t going to go well.  “Well, the Quinjet really needs the work.  And there’s always lines at the polls.  I thought, you know, after we saved the world last time, we could get excused from our other civic duties so we can get ready to save it again.”

            Steve was not buying it.  “Is that really all you think voting is?  Just going and standing in line because you should?  Don’t you care?”

            Tony did not have to take that, no he didn’t.  “C’mon, Cap, it’s not like we’re in a swing state.  One vote won’t make any difference.  And I’ve talked to enough politicians to know that there’s no real difference between the parties anyway, they all just listen to the lobbiests in the end.  Not like it changes anything.  Tell you what, Thor can just say he’s me, if he wants to vote so badly.  Same address and all.”  And Tony knew he wasn’t being totally honest, he did often vote when he remembered, it’s not like the owner/CEO of a major weapons/clean energy company could ignore politics.  But his own business considerations looked so sordid next to Steve’s genuine patriotism that he wasn’t about to admit that.  (And none of it had anything to do with how adorably Steve bit his lip when he was mildly disappointed by Tony’s antics, which Tony totally hadn’t noticed that he was doing just now.)

            Unfortunately, Steve refused to get distracted by Tony’s bait.  Shoulders squaring, he said, “You know, Tony, if everyone felt that way then Thor would be right and democracy could never work.  _I_ am going to go vote.”  His gaze fixed on Natasha.

            She met his eyes with a tiny shrug.  “Not a citizen either, just a resident.  Besides, I’ve seen enough elections here and in Russia to see that it never changes.  And it’s not where the real power comes from.”

            And Tony couldn’t let that go (which had nothing to do with the look on Steve’s face).  “Hang on, Russia’s elections are all rigged, everyone knows that, it’s not a fair comparison.  We have been doing this for a long time, and sometimes it’s important.” Now Clint was smirking at him, that wouldn’t do.  “Here, today, not so much, there’s hardly anything to choose between, and like I said, we all know which way New York’s going to go, anyway.”  But at least Steve looked a little brighter, while Natasha shrugged again.

            Steve glanced at Bruce, who looked up with a smile.  “I’ll go with you,” he said.  “I try to vote if I’m in the country.”  He was rewarded with a smile while Tony sat there trying to blame him for being a suck-up (although he was pretty sure he was just being Bruce).

            All eyes turned to Clint, who was looking unconcerned.  “I’ve never voted,” he confessed.  “I don’t really follow politics.  Bunch of guys in suits, we get enough of that at home.  I don’t even know if I’m registered—“

            “You are,” Coulson interjected, never looking up from his paper.

            “—ok, so I guess I can vote, but I don’t really know anything about the candidates or whatever.  Wasn’t going to bother.” 

            Ok, this was past lip-biting into the somebody-killed-a-kitten-in-front-of-Captain-America face of trauma, and Tony couldn’t bear it anymore.  “That’s fine!” he crowed.  “Sure there’s a candidate’s guide around somewhere.  Or, wait, Jarvis?”

            “Yes, sir?”

            “Make up a powerpoint about the candidates and issues on our local ballots.  Pros, cons, you know.  Videos of the best gaffes.  Get the good stuff.” Wait, no, humoring Steve, who had been so excited earlier and now looked absolutely deflated.  “No, make that a max of two gaffes per candidate, talk about the issues.  And stuff.”

            “Yes, sir.  Do you want major party candidates only?”

            “Uh, no, get me anyone predicted to get over 5% of the vote.  So yeah, actually, probably only major parties.  And skip the religious whackjobs regardless, none of us are voting for them anyway, we don’t want to see that.”  And now, great, Clint and Natasha and _Bruce_ were smirking at him, what were they looking at, he was only being a rational businessman. 

A glance at Steve showed a smile, though, and the straight shoulders that were the happy ones, not the squared to attention version.  “Right,” he broke in, sounding quietly excited again, “That will be great, Tony, thank you.  Maybe we should go over right after that?  Before anything can happen, you know.  It’s my first election in seventy years,” he said with slightly sheepish smile, “I don’t want to risk missing it.  Before, the voting age was 21, so I only got to vote twice before the war.  And then, when I was overseas, of course, it wasn’t like today with absentee ballots.  I really do like being able to do this, it really is important.”  And how could anyone resist that earnest smile?  A look around the table showed clearly that it wasn’t anyone here. 

Tony grinned in response.  “Ok, then, let’s go hit the polls!”

 

\--------

 

There were much worse things, he reflected later, than their picture heading half of the political blogs in the state.  This time, at least, it wasn’t of them fighting; instead, they stood in front of PS 84.  Five of them wore red, white, and blue stickers that cheerfully proclaimed “I Voted!”; four of them were the same ones that everyone was wearing, while the one on the Thunder God was shaped like a star, and perhaps bore a stronger resemblance to the stickers given out by the mock election the school was running (where, inside, volunteers were trying to put back up a booth that had been knocked down by someone much larger than an average fourth grader).  All six of them were giving genuine smiles to the cameras; Tony’s a little sardonic but real, Clint’s with a hint of glee at voting against that “idiot who I wouldn’t even let in my house, what does he think he’s talking about?” Bruce’s slightly smug, Thor’s adorably excited at participating in this “finest ritual of my adopted nation!”, Natasha’s amused, and Steve’s just pure, sweet joy.  There are, Tony thinks, much worse things than some good old-fashioned patriotism. 

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a couple of months ago, when it was a bit more topical, but I figured I'd post it anyways. For my sister, who loves patriotic Steve.


End file.
